Police records show murder suspect Sonny Minshall's violent past

Sonny Minshall, right, listens as Fairfield County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Berens speaks during Minshall's initial appearance Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018, in Lancaster. Minshall appeared in court through a video uplink at the Fairfield County Jail. Minshall is being held on a murder charge in connection with the shooting death of his girlfriend Corena Bower.(Photo: Matthew Berry/Eagle-Gazette)Buy Photo

LANCASTER - Sonny Minshall looked down, averting his gaze from the camera while a Fairfield County judge informed him that if convicted, he may spend the rest of his life in prison.

As Minshall, 29, sat in near silence, appearing unmoved by court proceedings in a jail-issued green suicide smock Tuesday, Corena Bower's family prepared for her funeral.

Minshall is accused of fatally shooting his longtime girlfriend Bower, 27, in the parking lot of the Casa Grande Motel, where they lived together, on Feb. 24. Past police and court records obtained by the Eagle-Gazette show Minshall reportedly threatened Bower's life twice before her death.

What sparked Minshall's outrage in those instances? Text messages on Bower's phone. Jealousy when he thought other men were giving her attention. And, on one occasion, her driving.

Records also indicate Minshall was not allowed under federal law to have what appears to be an AR-15 confiscated by police following Bower's murder because of his past criminal domestic violence record.

The beginning of the end

The first official mention of violence between the two occurred Sept. 23, 2009, when Minshall wouldn't leave a house she was watching. She called a male friend over who tried to get Minshall to leave. It ended with the friend getting punched in the face and his glasses broken and Minshall threatening to return to the home and "shoot everyone in it," according to the police report.

Minshall pleaded guilty to aggravated menacing, a first-degree misdemeanor and spent 19 days in jail. The judge ordered him to have no contact with Bower or her friend and not to possess weapons, among other stipulations. He was also required to pay for the glasses he damaged and to complete mental health court recommendations.

Tamara Bartek, municipal court specialized dockets director, said records from the mental health court from 2009 are incomplete, but it doesn't appear Minshall made any attempt to see the program through. The court's specialized mental health docket was only certified about three years ago and Bartek said prior to certification, it was an "informal program" with no strict guidelines or requirements.

In August 2015, Minshall was ordered again to have no contact with Bower after her roommate saw Minshall hitting her twice in the face and kicking her in the arm. He left before police arrived, but admitted to officers on the phone that he hit her. Still, he wouldn't turn himself in.

A warrant was issued for his arrest, but Minshall remained at-large for nearly a year and a half until Bower called the police on him again in December 2016.

This time, Bower's injuries were more extensive. She had a bloody nose and a bruise beginning to form on her right cheek.

Bower had been driving on Sugar Grove Road and was crossing the railroad tracks when she hydroplaned. She got the vehicle back under control and pulled into a parking lot when Minshall reportedly "punched her in the face three times and told her he was going to kill her." Bower was able to get away and ran to a home across the street where someone called 911.

Minshall drove away in the car and was circling the area when a police officer spotted him. He was arrested and released on a recognizance bond. He was ordered to stay away from Bower again and to undergo a mental health evaluation.

Each time, police reports indicate Bower was willing to pursue charges. Some charges, however, were dismissed as part of a plea deal.

By the time Minshall was scheduled for bench trials in February 2017 on the two assault cases — from August 2015 and December 2016 — he didn't show. Another warrant was issued for his arrest and he was brought in days later. This is when Bower made a deal, pleading guilty to the 2015 case and was sentenced to 22 days in jail and two years of probation, which he allegedly violated two months later. The charges related to Bower being punched in the face while driving were dropped.

Repeated violence

The documents obtained for this Eagle-Gazette story are not a complete picture of Minshall's criminal record. Fairfield County Municipal Court records show his probation was revoked in 2010 for a case outside the county, but there was no other information about what had occurred or where.

Minshall also has a criminal record in Van Wert where he lived at one time. He reportedly attacked a man working at Burger King, where Bower worked as a manager and Minshall was an employee. Minshall thought the 25-year-old man was having a relationship with Bower and went into the restaurant, pulled the man's shirt over his head and began hitting him repeatedly in the head and face, according to the Sept. 1, 2016 report.

Eleven days later, Minshall also allegedly threatened to kill Bower's brother, hitting him in the head with a vodka bottle, saying "'(expletive) I'll kill you,' according to a Van Wert police report. "He then could her (sic) Sonny say 'Give me the Gun', 'Give me the Gun'. and he then stated he was going to jail."

Minshall was reportedly upset because his medication was missing. The bottle shattered and Bower's brother began to have seizures and thought he may be paralyzed. He was hospitalized and dropped the charges against Minshall three months later.

During the investigation, Van Wert police confiscated two handguns found at Minshall's home because they determined he was not allowed to possess one due to a past domestic violence conviction, according to police notes.

It's still unknown how Minshall obtained the weapon that is alleged to have killed Bower. Police found a handwritten bill of sale for the rifle at the motel and Lancaster Police Chief Adam Pillar said they will investigate how the firearm ended up in Minshall's possession.

The Eagle-Gazette reached out to Bower's family to learn more about their relationship and history of domestic violence. Several family members were interviewed, however, they later asked that their statements not be shared until the case is complete per a request from the Fairfield County Prosecutor's Office.

The E-G decided to honor the family's request.

Why go back?

Even without the family's voice, it's clear from public records that Minshall and Bower were in an on-again-off-again relationship for many years with dysfunction and violence reported as far back as 2009 when Bower was 18.

Suzanne Pelletier-Capitini, executive director of The Lighthouse — a local domestic violence shelter — said there are many reasons why someone in a domestic violence situation may not leave or return to the situation.

"One of the primary reasons that people return to the situations is out of fear," Pelletier-Capitini said. "It's difficult to leave the situation. Additionally, there are a tremendous number of barriers to ending a relationship with a batterer ... I think fear is a big one, economic dependence is another one."

The Lighthouse crisis phone line receives more than 3,000 calls a year. Each year the nonprofit averages assisting about 1,500 people, which includes victims of violence and their children.

"About half of the people who call actually would like to leave and want to make plans to do that," Pelletier-Capitini said. "The others are kind of exploring their options."

"Even if you're not sure that we can do anything to help, I think it's important to just call and learn what your options are," she added. "We're always there. There's always a counselor there to talk. Battered women are not alone in this community."